On this day, Su Rong did not return to the Royal Palace but stayed in Zhou Residence to have dinner with The Old Duke and others, and slept in the courtyard where she was staying, along with the wife of the head of the family.
On the way back to the palace, the Nanchu King did not allow Xie Yuan to return to his residence but pulled him along, insisting that he join him for dinner at the Royal Palace, "Xie Brother, Xiaoqi must have settled in at the Zhou Residence tonight, and it’s so dull for me to dine alone. No, you must join me."
Xie Yuan did not want to agree. Who would enjoy having dinner with him? But with the Nanchu King being so clingy, and dragging him along, he had no choice but to go to the Royal Palace.
While dining with Xie Yuan, the Nanchu King sighed, "Without Xiaoqi dining with me, I feel so unaccustomed."
Xie Yuan kept his face expressionless.
The Nanchu King then said, "Ah, Xiaoqi’s mother has arrived. Did you see them? Seeing how affectionate they are, even I, as her father, don’t seem as favored in her presence."
Xie Yuan remained expressionless.
The Nanchu King continued, "Xie Brother, do you think Xiaoqi will always be running off to the Zhou Residence in the future?"
Xie Yuan did not want to deal with him.
The Nanchu King looked at him, "Say something."
Xie Yuan sneered, "What do you want me to say? That you should also stay at the Zhou Residence?"
The Nanchu King blinked, "Would that be appropriate? Wouldn’t The Old Duke consider that inappropriate? Moreover, there are several ladies living in the Zhou Residence; wouldn’t it be inconvenient?"
Xie Yuan poured himself another drink, deeply regretting being dragged into the palace as there was no way he was going to enjoy this meal.
The Nanchu King wasn’t annoyed and let out a sigh, "If Xiaoqi keeps running to the Zhou Residence in the future, I’ll just move into your residence, which would be more reliable."
Xie Yuan almost spit out his drink, "Stop it, you’re not welcome at my residence."
"Ah, come on, Xie Brother. Don’t be so stingy. So it’s settled. Whenever Xiaoqi runs off to the Zhou Residence, I’ll look for you to dine together. If you won’t come to the palace, I’ll go to your residence," the Nanchu King came up with a plan and was cheered up again, "The two of us, it’s like having a companion, you know? Look at you, why are you giving me the cold shoulder again? Weren’t you consoling me on Xiaoqi’s birthday? Are we still good brothers or what?"
Xie Yuan took a deep breath and set down his wine cup, "Are we drinking or not?"
"Drink, drink, drink. Here we go," the Nanchu King hurriedly helped him lift his cup, "Let’s drink together."
The snow outside the window grew heavier, and inside the inner hall of the Royal Palace, the charcoal burned brightly, exuding warmth.
After drinking, the Nanchu King clung to Xie Yuan, "Xie Brother, the snow is too heavy, and you’ve had so much to drink with me. Just stay at the Royal Palace tonight! If you were to go back like this, I wouldn’t be at ease; I’d have to accompany you to your Xie Residence."
Xie Yuan did not want to argue over this and nodded, "Alright."
The heavy snow continued all night and was still falling heavily in the morning, reaching a depth of three feet.
The next day, early in the morning, Su Rong got up to attend the Morning Court Meeting, and the eunuchs were holding court dresses for her to get dressed.
The wife of the head of the family watched by her side and, after Su Rong was properly dressed, looked out at the weather muttering, "Such heavy snow, and still in a hurry to attend the morning court meeting while it’s still dark outside, truly exhausting."
Unlike her, who could go back to bed and sleep for another hour.
Su Rong also felt very tired, but what could she do? She muttered to herself and then turned to leave.
The wife of the head of the family didn’t hear clearly what Su Rong had muttered and, yawning, asked the wet nurse serving beside her, "What did she say just now before leaving? Did you catch it?"
The wet nurse smiled and said, "I heard it clearly. Seventh Miss said she should hurry up and have the Great Wedding, have a child soon, and be able to hand over the throne earlier." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Lady of the House: "..."
She laughed and scolded, "It’s truly pitiful for my little grandson. He might still be floating around as a little ghost, and she’s already thinking about him." She let out two more yawns, lay back down on the bed, pulled the covers over herself, and closed her eyes. "This bed is really comfortable. Tell the kitchen I won’t be having breakfast. I’ll just sleep until I wake up."
The wet nurse nodded with a smile, lowered the bed curtains for her, and closed the bedroom door.
With the heavy snow falling like goose feathers and the north wind howling, darkness and slippery roads accompanied the night. Su Rong arrived at the Morning Court Meeting on time, but some of the older Court Officials missed it.
Seeing her, the Court Officials repeatedly apologized.
Su Rong waved her hand dismissively, "With such weather, it’s already hard for the elders to get up and rush to the Morning Court Meeting. Take care of your health first. Special weather conditions, a small delay doesn’t amount to much."
Touched by her understanding, the officials lined up properly.
That day, at the Morning Court Meeting, the officials could clearly sense that the Princess was in a good mood. Even though the discussion revolved around the thorny issue of dealing with the snow disaster, it did not affect the Princess’s mood since the Old Duke of Protectorate and others had come to Nanchu.
It wasn’t until after the meeting adjourned that Zhang Yun brought up, "Ah, Brother Zhou and Brother Ye. I wonder when they’ll be able to return. With such heavy snow, I’m afraid it might lead to the mountain being sealed. It was supposed to be a half-month affair, but I hope the heavy snow doesn’t delay it to a month."
Su Rong had been missing Zhou Gu already, and upon hearing this, she instantly felt displeased and glared at Zhang Yun.
Zhang Yun, noticing her stare, said, "Eh? Princess, did I say something wrong? Why are you glaring at me?"
Su Rong replied irritably, "Don’t jinx it."
Zhang Yun understood and touched his nose, "Yes, I spoke nonsense. Brother Zhou will definitely return after half a month. The heavy snow won’t stop him."
Su Rong, satisfied, turned and walked away.
Zhang Yun: "..."
He hadn’t realized before how childish the Princess could be. Was it not a fact just because he didn’t mention it?
The Eldest Princess Shengan had been longing to see her grandson. Since leaving the Capital City last autumn, she hadn’t seen Zhou Gu for over a year. She had hoped to see him upon arriving in Nanchu but hadn’t expected Zhou Gu to be away on official business, compounded by the heavy snowfall.
She and the Old Duke of Protectorate sighed together, "When can Gu’er return? The snow is falling so heavily, it’s making me anxious."
The Old Duke of Protectorate looked at his wife, "What’s the rush? We are staying put, not going anywhere. Stay for three or five years if you wish. Once he’s back at the Royal Capital, you can see him every day."
Eldest Princess Shengan, consoled by his words, started to smile, "You old man, you do have a way with words."
The Old Duke of Protectorate wasn’t the least bit worried, "I fought in battles during my youth, and once I didn’t return home for two years. I don’t recall you missing me much then."
Eldest Princess Shengan glared at him, "How can that be the same? When I married you, I knew what I was in for. Even if one day someone carried your corpse back from the battlefield, I wouldn’t be surprised. What good would missing you do? You weren’t coming back. I might as well not think of you at all."
The Old Duke of Protectorate was at a loss for words.
Eldest Princess Shengan, still in high spirits, said: "I miss my dear grandson because I look forward to his return, which gives me hope. But back when you were young, you never gave me anything to look forward to."
The Old Duke of Protectorate had no desire to continue the conversation and closed his mouth.
Yet Eldest Princess Shengan did not let him off, "If we find it comfortable here, what’s wrong with staying in Nanchu for three or five years? Let Gu’er take care of us in our old age. Rui’er also doesn’t want to leave; even the child wants his Fourth Uncle to stay with him as he grows. There’s no meaning in going back to the Daliang Capital City. Nanchu is more interesting to live."
Old Duke of Protectorate: "..."
Only a day into their visit, and she was already considering dying here? Is this reasonable?
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